Goldring Travel Blog – Making Waves

Cruise & Travel News, Reviews, Opinions, Deals & More

Goldring Travel’s 2017 Culinary & Cultural (Food & Wine) Cruise – The Special Events!

Food Wine Cruise, Seabourn, Seabourn Encore

Goldring Travel’s 2017 Culinary & Cultural Cruise sets sail September 4, 2017 on the beautiful, ultra-luxury, Seabourn Encore for 10 days round-trip Barcelona, Spain. And, as usual, Goldring Travel has special pricing!

Seabourn Encore

As you probably know this annually sold out event is limited to only 14 pampered guests plus, of course, me! And, as always, Goldring Travel does not charge extra for any of the events!

The itinerary is extremely diverse and interesting…and, hey, it starts out in one of the world’s culinary hotbeds: Barcelona!

MON 04SEP17 Sail from Barcelona, Spain 5:00pm
TUE 05SEP17 Valencia, Spain 8:00am 6:00pm
WED 06SEP17 Sea Day
THU 07SEP17 Tangier, Morocco 8:00am 6:00pm
FRI 08SEP17 Cadiz (Seville), Spain 8:00am 11:00pm
SAT 09SEP17 Portimao, Portugal 8:00am 6:00pm
SUN 10SEP17 Gibraltar, British Territory 10:00am 11:00pm
MON 11SEP17 Malaga, Spain 8:00am 6:00pm
TUE 12SEP17 Cartagena, Spain 10:00am 6:00pm
WED 13SEP17 Ibiza, Spain 1 8:00am 6:00pm
THU 14SEP17 Debark Ship Barcelona, Spain 7:00am

(Blue designates ports where Special Events have been confirmed!)

This year Goldring Travel is putting a bit of emphasis on creating extraordinary culinary experiences that you can do yourself…even in a simple camping pot!

We are bringing with us, Michelle Shea, an Adventure Dining Expert who has her own television show and internet presence to bring some more fun and “get out there” to balance against the elegance of Seabourn’s executive chefs. Ever heard of “glamping”? It is Glamour Camping. Not to worry: “Roughing it” is totally out of the question!

The Special Private Events

Goldring Travel is putting the finishing touches on three (3) Private Events off the ship plus more surprises.

Barcelona: Our first event is in Barcelona the morning before we depart on the cruise and will highlight two of the culturally driven aspects of the Catalan region.

Our expert sommelier will take us on a tour through La Boqueria, which I believe is one of the best markets in Europe. While we are there our Adventure Dining Expert and I just might make some purchases to enjoy later in the cruise.

We will stop right near La Boqueria for a wine tasting…just to get things started. Then we wander the nearby Gothic Barrio (Quarter) where we will enjoy a number of different Spanish and Catalonian wines and, of course, a wide variety of pinchos (literally means “spike” because they are basically tapas that have a toothpick in them which you can pick up) as we wander the barrio visiting a few locations along the way.

If you are still hungry (which isn’t likely!) we will then head to the Seabourn Encore for embarkation…where you can enjoy a late lunch before setting sail.

Tangier: This should be one of the highlights of our cruise! Our morning adventure will start out with a cultural walking tour of Tangier’s Medina and Kasbah followed by an exciting venture into the food market where our Adventure Dining Expert and I will purchase truly local ingredients for our Culinary Event in an beautiful exotic Moroccan venue where we will both cook traditional Moroccan cuisine in the traditional…and not so traditional…manner as we enjoy local beverages and our expert guide explains the culture and traditions of the ingredients and the dishes that we are creating for our enjoyment.

After our lunch, you will have some time to explore Tangier on your own or head back to the ship,

Cadiz: An Extraordinary Andalusian Dining Experience awaits! With our late evening departure, at 5:00 PM we will head to the famous sherry winery Tio Pepe for a private evening of a tour, tasting and a paired dinner. Our evening starts with a private visit to Tio Pepe’s Historical Archive with a welcome tasting of a 30 year old sherry followed by a visit through the gardens, Lepanto aging cellar and the new distillers…of course sampling this sherry-related brandy. From there we venture into an ultra-modern tasting room for a Private Four Course Dinner paired with some incredible sherries.

Think you know sherry? This old school spirit has many flavors and facets and very little resemblance to that which your grandmother sipped. This will be a delicious and eye-opening experience into one of the least known fortified wine that was created right where we will be experiencing it!

Other Events

This sailing is an Ensemble Travel Group sailing so there will be another event (still being worked on; possibly a cooking class) in Malaga, Spain.

And as with all of Goldring Travel’s Culinary & Cultural Cruises, there will be a special Cocktail Party, and we hope to have a Private Shopping with the Chef, a Private Cooking Demonstration (though this time side-by-side with our Adventure Dining Expert using the same ingredients in a very different way!) and the always spectacular Food & Wine Experience on the last day of the cruise. Of course there may just be an impromptu event or two along the way, as well.

Of course there is one final thing that needs to be mentioned: All of these events are optional. If you want to participate you can, and if you don’t, you do not have to. This is not an ordinary “group cruise” where you feel joined

If you are interested in joining the Goldring Travel 2017 Culinary & Cultural Cruise, please call or email me as soon as possible. Honestly, there are only a very few suites left to this very small group experience.

United States: (877) 2GO-LUXURY
United Kingdom: 020 8133 3450
Australia: (07) 3102 4685
Everywhere Else: +1 530-562-9232
Email: eric@goldringtravel.com.